Three Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

In the last blog, Fire Enterprises (FEI) Sales Tribe Leader Zoot showed Sales Apprentice Ganymede how to get clients to call him back by leaving them wanting more. This week, Marketing Tribe Leader Marka tells the tribe three marketing mistakes they should avoid. Remember, fire = print.

FEI’s Tuesday afternoon marketing meeting had begun. In the conference room, Marka stood at the whiteboard in front of the FEI tribe.

“I may be the Marketing Tribe Leader, but everyone at FEI is in marketing, in a sense,” Marka said. “It’s important for every FEI employee to have at least a basic grasp of marketing best practices. That’s why today I’d like to go over some common marketing mistakes companies make, as well as suggestions for how to avoid them.”

“We’re all ears,” Org said.

“There’s one important thing to keep in mind during this discussion,” Marka said. “The number one rule of marketing is ‘Do No Harm’. This rule trumps all others. Now, let’s move onto mistake #1.”

Marka scribbled on the whiteboard:
#1—Failure to use a marketing mix
“Our marketing plan should include a mix of media, timing and approaches,” Marka said. “For instance, today it’s tempting to concentrate most of our efforts in the broadcast O-mail channel, since O-mails are easy to create and cost basically nothing to send. But putting all our eggs in O-mail—or any one channel—is the wrong approach. We must vary our strategy to include multiple touch points with prospects and customers—you never know which one will convince them to pick up the phone!”

Marka scribbled more on the whiteboard:

#2—Failure to follow up
“Marketing communications designed to support FEI’s sales efforts are made much more effective when they’re followed by a phone call,” Marka said. “That’s on you, Zoot. If our marketing strategy includes a promise of a follow-up, we’ve got to follow up!”

EFT.J. TedescoAuthor's page
T.J. Tedesco is a sales growth, business strategy, marketing and PR consultant operating at the intersection of clear vision, compelling content and effective outreach practices. For nearly two decades, T.J. has been an independent consultant and sales growth team leader. Previously, he sold commercial printing, graphic arts machinery and supplies, and finishing and bindery services.
T.J. helps North American companies with content development, Web and print design leadership, nurture marketing programs, sales coaching, sales team alignment and business strategy. Since 1996, T.J. has worked with more than 100 clients on retainer, 80 percent in the graphic arts industry.
T.J. is author of "Win Top-of-Mind Positioning," "Playbook for Selling Success in the Graphic Arts Industry," "Fire! How Marketing Got Hot," "Direct Mail Pal" and four more books published by PIA.
He can be reached at (301) 404-2244 or tj@tjtedesco.com.